The chat pure crap thread

version

Well-known member
well my dudes i was considering how we could escape from this software, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VBulletin which has lots of limitations and is not really supported anymore - the top contender these days would be (Free Open Source) Discourse, or maybe (Proprietary, same devs who originally created this) Zenforo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_(software)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XenForo
My thoughts are about whether to just set up one of them, then ask everyone to start chatting over there instead, or whether to copy all the archives too....
We might need a dissensus summit to work it out, and a bunch of $$$ would be handy too
community migration time

This lot showed up again:

Who currently owns the forum?
 

version

Well-known member
Are you not apprehensive about some random trying to buy it? Sounds like someone trying to harvest data, sell ads etc. You know, evil shit.
 

version

Well-known member
I think you probably would have to carry the archives over. It would be a shame to lose stuff like the dematerialisation thread.
 

sufi

lala
yes i think we'd always want to keep the archives available, possibly they are more important than the community :eek:
 

sufi

lala
Are you not apprehensive about some random trying to buy it? Sounds like someone trying to harvest data, sell ads etc. You know, evil shit.
sure, i checked them out, they would probably be OK, but would monetise it - & i think that dissensus may not be suitable for that business model due to the fruitiness of our discussions being rather unattractive to advertisers
 

version

Well-known member
Is there anything particularly pressing that demands our move to different software? I dunno about everyone else, but I really like the forum as it is and can't stand the way newer stuff optimised for phones and tablets looks.
 

version

Well-known member
Maybe we should make a proper thread for this as everyone probably has an opinion whereas people might not be arsed about checking this thread.
 

catalog

Well-known member
Gags aside, I agree it's great as is. But I'm having to do loads of actual work atm cos I'm managing a site where one of the components is unsupported on a new server we have to move to and it's a pain in the ass, to figure out to replace it. So if this platform is unsupported, we should make a plan and it does warrant a new thread. I would happily kick some money in for it if you can identify a platform Sufi.

Whilst I am generally clueless about all web stuff and have bluffed it so far, I can well imagine that working out a way to move the archives so they stay as is will be tricky.

That's def something to consider, how to move the archives so they can be brought back alive thru search and added to, in the way they can be now.

Ie a setup where there is no differentiation between archives, except front end display. I think that's important probably eg that you can do a search and find a thread from ten years ago, and post on it and bring it back up.

That's actually a true archive anyway, it's got an engagement with the present.

Anyway, yeah, let's do it
 

sufi

lala
Is there anything particularly pressing that demands our move to different software? I dunno about everyone else, but I really like the forum as it is and can't stand the way newer stuff optimised for phones and tablets looks.
Not really. But we do need to move to a different host soon as the forum database will soon be too big to keep on the cheap hosting deal i have now,
that's not that huge a deal though inshallah - i already got started on that mission actually, but if anyone knows good cheap hosts, tell me

it's not great to stick with obsolete software, for all its dubious charm, it might get hacked or start malfunctioning, better to avoid that rather than have to deal with it

but glad to hear you like it as it is :)
 

sufi

lala
Gags aside, I agree it's great as is. But I'm having to do loads of actual work atm cos I'm managing a site where one of the components is unsupported on a new server we have to move to and it's a pain in the ass, to figure out to replace it. So if this platform is unsupported, we should make a plan and it does warrant a new thread. I would happily kick some money in for it if you can identify a platform Sufi.

Whilst I am generally clueless about all web stuff and have bluffed it so far, I can well imagine that working out a way to move the archives so they stay as is will be tricky.

That's def something to consider, how to move the archives so they can be brought back alive thru search and added to, in the way they can be now.

Ie a setup where there is no differentiation between archives, except front end display. I think that's important probably eg that you can do a search and find a thread from ten years ago, and post on it and bring it back up.

That's actually a true archive anyway, it's got an engagement with the present.

Anyway, yeah, let's do it
zenforo and discourse have quite good migration processes from vb i think, so it would be possible, but it's quite a big job, and i think we'd lose a lot of the flavour - stuff like thanks and tags and so on

there's another issue which is the youtube and other links fading away, it would be great to sort them out somehow
 

version

Well-known member
If you can get one with a similar layout, I'll be able to adjust. I just worry about ending up with something like 555-5555 and it alienating everyone and killing the forum..
 

version

Well-known member
Also would we be able to keep the URL or would we have to be like forums.dissensus.org or something?
 
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sufi

lala
Path of least resistance will ensure that you don't need to worry much i think

i'm amazed and a bit disappointed that given this software was so popular and well used for so long, there's not much in the way of archiving tools available.
I don't think the web archive has captured every thread and post because it's all created on the fly, it's hard to tell, but it would be great if there was a plugin for vb that would pour the whole website into a sturdy vessel that could exist without needing all the dynamic stuff like the database and php code...

I guess if we were to raise a load of cash = maybe £5-10K or more, we could do some clever stuff with it, i know clever folk who can do it, but we've always been free and i like it like that

another thing to do would be to display ads for unregistered users, but i dunno if any advertiser would want to associate with us lot
 

catalog

Well-known member
zenforo and discourse have quite good migration processes from vb i think, so it would be possible, but it's quite a big job, and i think we'd lose a lot of the flavour - stuff like thanks and tags and so on

there's another issue which is the youtube and other links fading away, it would be great to sort them out somehow

Those tags are pretty good....
 

catalog

Well-known member
I wouldn't worry so much about the URL, I'm sure that's not a big issue... DNS and cname is easyish I think? Plus google search will find it easily enough if it stays as dissensus. But I actually don't know what I'm on about
 
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